Auras
by ToMyOwn
Summary: A strange hunger grew within him as he found himself yearning to know what she knew. To hold the power she could give him. Tom would make sure Aurelia Dumbledore was his


1943

All eyes followed the thin, lithe girl as she walked down the Great Hall with the rest of the first years. She was taller than them by a foot or so and had long shiny brown hair. It fell in loose ringlets down to her elbows and would occasionally fall in front of her bright blue eyes. They all watched as she stood attentively in front of the Great Hall. One by one, all the first years were called up. All except for the tall blue-eyed girl.

"Now, we have the pleasure of accepting yet another talented witch into our care. Please welcome Miss Aurelia Dumbledore," said Headmaster Dippet. Murmurs and whispers broke out around the hall as Aurelia stepped forwards and looked around the room cheerily. She seemed completely unfazed by the reaction she was receiving. In the middle of the table of green, a boy with jet black hair and dark eyes watched her carefully. "Settle down, settle down. Miss Dumbledore is, as you guessed, related to one of our own. Professor Albus Dumbledore has decided that it was time that his niece received a proper education in one of the greatest magical institutions in the world. Miss Dumbledore, if you would."

Aurelia sat down on the stool and the sorting hat was placed on her head. For a few moments everyone held their breath. They all wanted her to get sorted into their house. She was, after all, Dumbledore. Who knows what incredible magical feats she could accomplish just with a wave of her hand?

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Red and gold appeared on her robes and she grinned at her uncle who beamed back at her with pride. Aurelia joined the table of lions while the other houses sulked in their disappointment. The black-haired boy felt disappointed as well. It would've been much more interesting had she been placed in the house of snakes.

"Miss Dumbledore shall be starting her first year at Hogwarts as a fifth year. Due to the recent… conflict, that occurred on the train ride here..." Dippet tapered off at the end and people looked towards Fiona Summers who flushed red from both anger and embarrassment. Everyone had heard of the cat-fight that occurred between her and a ravenclaw girl in front of the bathrooms. "The other professors and I have decided that the fifth year prefects must be reconsidered. Therefore, the fifth year prefect for Ravenclaw shall be Miss Charlotte Ingril. As for the fifth year prefect for Gryffindor, we have decided to entrust Miss Aurelia Dumbledore due to the prevalent influence her uncle must have on her ability to discern right from wrong. Now, let the feast begin."

Aurelia, who had gotten dragged to the middle of the table, was introduced to numerous people. They were all curious about her sudden appearance and her family. She knew that even if she answered as many questions as she could there would still be ridiculous rumours sprouting throughout the school.

"Hello, I'm Delilah Finnagen. You can call me Lila," said a blonde girl with a hand outstretched. Aurelia shook her hand with a pleasant smile. "I'm a fifth year like you, if you'd like I can help you around the school until you're familiar with the castle."

"Oh thank you," said Aurelia slightly surprised. She had expected another question about her family life. Then again, there was always the chance that Delilah might just be trying to befriend her only to learn more. But that wasn't exactly a very Gryffindor thing to do. Aurelia decided to just try and make friends while she could, it'd be a miserable year if she pushed everyone away.

"That's Fiona Summers over there," said Lila gesturing towards a girl with red hair and muddy brown eyes. She was staring at her food with a scowl on her face. Aurelia remembered her as the girl who was supposed to be prefect instead of her. "Over there's Theodosia Sewyn, Ophelia Cadumus, Sarah Brown, and Jane Wethersay. Those are all the girls in our year. The boys are George Erwin, Peter Ashford, Charlus Potter, and David Rochefell."

Aurelia nodded and listened as Lila told her about each and every one of them. Fiona was temperamental but nice once you got to know her. Theodosia liked to be called Thea, Ophelia should've been placed in Ravenclaw, Sarah was infatuated with Peter, and Jane was always trying to calm Fiona down. Meanwhile Lila described all the boys as something along the lines of '_they're all pigs_'. Unfortunately David heard her and an argument sparked up among the Gryffinors. She just smiled and watched it all happen around her.

"Ignore them, they're always arguing," said Charlus sidling up beside her. He was the other prefect in their year.

"Oh, they're very entertaining," said Aurelia piling up her place with food. She ended up getting along quite well with Charlus and found that she enjoyed his company much more than Lila's. The girl seemed a bit too distracted by everything. Aurelia glanced up at the table in front of the hall and smiled at her uncle. Albus was watching her closely, most likely wondering if she was getting along with the other members of her house. Once he was sure that she was alright he gave her a small nod and continued with his dinner.

"Come on, we've got to show the first years to the Common Room," said Charlus standing up. He paused and made a funny face. "I suppose that's a bit strange since you've never been to the Common Room either."

"It's alright, you can lead the way and I'll make sure no one falls behind," she said. He nodded and they gathered up the first years. The Gryffindor Common Room was warm and homely, exactly how her uncle described it. Aurelia got a bed in between Lila and Sarah's which was nice. Sarah was the first to go to sleep and Lila was extremely neat. Jane snored a bit but Aurelia just drew the curtains closed and cast a silencing charm. Her first night at Hogwarts turned out a lot better than she had expected.

Waking up early was something Aurelia enjoyed. Many people she had met before had thought she was crazy but she liked being the first one up. No one else was awake and she was able to just start her day feeling refreshed without anyone bothering her. What she quickly learned was that other shared the same pleasure in waking up early.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," said Aurelia after running into someone as she turned the corner. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked up and came face to face with a tall pale boy with jet black hair and dark green eyes.

"It's quite alright, Miss Dumbledore," said the boy politely. The corners of his lips were curved upwards in a small smile, causing him to look even more handsome. He smoothed down his uniform and examined her inconspicuously up close. She bore strikingly similar features to the despicable transfiguration professor. She had the same brown hair that resembled chocolate one would find in Honeydukes. Her eyes held the same glint that revealed she knew more than she let on. "Are you headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

"No, I was searching for the transfiguration office," said Aurelia oblivious to the thoughts going on in the boy's mind. "I'm not quite familiar with the layout of the caste yet but I've got to run into it eventually."

"I'm more than willing to show you the way," offered the boy. Her eyes lit up.

"That would be wonderful!" The smile on his face didn't change at all. Aurelia found him a bit curious, his expression seemed a bit too forced to be natural. Or she could just be overanalyzing him. Her father had once mentioned that her brain never stopped conjuring up endless different possibilities. "So, what's your name?"

"Tom Riddle," he answered after a moment of hesitation. "I'm a fifth year as well."

"Slytherin, right?" Aurelia asked. He nodded, wondering if she was one of those blithering idiots who believed in house rivalries. Much to his pleasure, Aurelia didn't seem affected by his house at all. It was strange, considering how her uncle favored all the houses above Slytherin.

"How have you been settling in at Hogwarts?" Tom asked initiating a conversation.

"Well," she answered without missing a beat. "I've made numerous friends and acquaintances. I'm excited to be able to attend a school with so many different witches and wizards."

"Were you home-schooled?"

"Not quite," said Aurelia amused by his guess. Everyone thought she was either a transfer or home-schooled. As if Albus would allow her to attend a school other than Hogwarts. Her father was illiterate so there was no way she could get home-schooled either. "I taught myself as much material as I could. After all, the first three years are just the basics and book work. I also need to take my O.W.L.S. this year so my uncle decided that it'd be best if I enrolled into Hogwarts."

Tom had to admit, he was intrigued. He knew Albus Dumbledore was considered one of the greatest wizards of all time but could Aurealia Dumbledore be following in her uncle's footsteps? If she had studied on her own for so long and still been able to attend Hogwarts as a fifth year, that had to have meant that she was smart and talented.

"Well, in any case, should you need any help with your classes don't hesitate to ask me," said Tom smoothly. It would be good to have Aurelia believing he was a nice person. It'd be easier to manipulate and use her to his advantage. "Ah, we've arrived." He pushed open the door for the transfiguration classroom and walked her to a door in the side of the classroom. "This is Professor Dumbledore's office."

"Thank you," said Aurelia gratefully. She knocked on the door with a light sharp pattern. Tom refrained from cringing, it was so… cheery. The door opened a minute later revealing Dumbledore wearing brown trousers and a dress shirt. Tom had never seen him look so casual before. "Morning Uncle Alby!"

_Alby_, Tom mused to himself. That was one of the only things he found he liked about Dumbledore's niece. Hopefully she had many more embarrassing nicknames for the daft man. Dumbledore smiled at the sight of Aurelia. "Good morning, Aurelia." His smile dimmed at the sight of Tom. "Good morning to you too, Tom. Although, I must admit, I wasn't expecting to see you this early in the morning."

"I was just showing Miss Dumbledore to your office," said Tom stiffly.

"I was lost," said Aurelia nodding in agreement. "I ran into Tom - Mr. Riddle? Riddle? I'm not quite sure what to call you."

"Either Riddle or Tom will do," said Tom coolly. He was curious to see which she would choose. It would give him a good idea of what his relationship with the girl was currently. If she chose his last name, it'd show she wasn't as trusting as he first thought and that they were mere acquaintances. Should she call him by his first name, it'd show her naive trust in others and subtly hint that they were friends.

"Alright, I ran into Tom in the hall," said Aurelia with a small nod. Tom did his best to keep a smug smile from appearing on his face. Dumbledore seemed to also understand the implications of her choice in name and his expression soured slightly. "Thank you again, Tom."

"You're very welcome, Miss Dumbledore. I should be heading down to the Great Hall now," said Tom beginning to leave. He didn't want to have to be around Professor Dumbledore any longer than he had to be. Much to his delight, he was leaving with a smile on his face. Now that he knew Aurelia wasn't aware of her uncle's dislike of him, it'd make it fair grounds for both Tom and Albus Dumbledore to try and win her over.

Pale slender fingers reached for the butter knife and carefully spread orange marmalade over her toast. It was nice eating breakfast in the privacy of her uncle's office, without the strangers all around her it felt like home. Albus walked over to the table and sat down across from her with the Daily Prophet.

"Wouldn't you much rather prefer eating breakfast with the rest of your peers?" he asked curiously. Aurelia smiled and took a bite of her toast. She knew he was just wondering if she had managed to make any friends. Albus was always too easy for her to read, Aurelia had even sensed his discomfort around Tom. Perhaps that should've been a sign to avoid Tom Riddle at all costs but boundaries and restraints always seemed more like a challenge to her than anything else. Her hamartia was her unyielding curiosity.

"I like having breakfast with you, the last time I had breakfast with you was when I was eight," she said as she pushed a plate of toast towards him. Albus chuckled and picked up a piece of toast. "Anyways, I know why you're really asking. Charlus Potter's really nice, and so's Lila Finnagen. They've both been a lot of help."

"Yes, Mr. Potter's quite the lad. I assume he's helping you adjust to your new prefect duties," said Albus watching his niece create a makeshift parfait. "Miss Finnagen's a good friend as well, albeit her lack of attention at times."

"And Tom?" Aurelia took note of the strained expression on his face. "What do you think of Tom?"

"He's a nice boy. Very determined and ambitious," said Albus carefully. Aurelia rolled her eyes and pointed her spoon at him.

"You don't like him. No— you don't _trust_ him. That's it."

"Are you reading my mind?" Albus questioned raising an eyebrow. She shrugged innocently and he scoffed. "Tom Riddle hides behind a mask of charisma and conceals his true intentions deep within him. He's not what he seems."

"Well, I suppose I'll have to be on my toes then," muttered Aurelia taking his words with a grain of salt. Albus frowned but he knew better than to chastise her. She was much like Tom in a way, although her intentions were more pure. After a moment Aurelia met his eyes with a dry smile on her face. "I wasn't using legilimency on you. You're just really easy for me to read. I know you don't trust Tom, and you think Dippet's a fool for placing Merrythought on suspension — yes I overheard that. I know all this, just like how I know you didn't enroll me in Hogwarts so then I'd get an actual education. You want to keep an eye on me."

"Aurelia, you need to understand that—"

"I'm in danger because I'm a Dumbledore?" Aurelia interrupted with a raised eyebrow. Albus sighed deeply and she swirled her yogurt around her glass bowl. She let go of the spoon and it kept spinning by itself. "You think Grindlewald will try and get me to join his cause. It won't work, I'm smarter than that."

"I can tell," murmured Albus eyeing the spoon. Wandless magic was extremely difficult, even the simplest of magic required a lot from the caster. A mischievous grin appeared on her face and he knew they had moved on from the previous topic.

"Do you want to see something cool? I learned it when I visited Beijing," said Aurelia eagerly. Albus nodded and she pointed her finger at a tea cup. The tea levitated out of the cup and she used her other hand to send the cup flying into the air. The moment the cup shot up random things around the room did the same. Books, papers, quills, spoons, napkins, shoes, they all flew up at least two feet into the air. She turned her palm facing upwards and everything suspended itself.

"Impressive," said Albus looking around in awe. He knew his niece was gifted but he had no idea how powerful her magic was. Hopefully no one else did either. Aurelia closed her eyes and slowly lowered her hand. All the objects floated back down to their original spots and the tea cup rested gently on the table in front of Albus. Aurelia pointed her finger at the cup and the tea returned to the cup.

"You should see the aura. A Zouwu tamer taught me how to see them. Mine is periwinkle. It's like the beam of light that appears when you cast a spell but this one sort of lingers around until the spell is gone," explained Aurelia levitating her spoon and examining the periwinkle color surrounding it. Albus smiled at her child-like wonder and levitated his own spoon.

"And mine?"

"Purple. Deep orchid purple."

"What else did the tamer teach you?" Albus asked curiously. He too wanted to know all about what his niece learned on her exotic travels.

"How to ride a Zouwu." She paused for a moment and look up at him with wide pleading eyes. He immediately knew what was coming next. "Do you think I could keep one as a pet? It'd be tame, of course."

Albus chuckled and stared at her mirthfully. Sometimes he felt more like a father than an uncle. He knew his brother Aberforth was lacking in parental expertise so Albus ended up watching over her for most of her childhood. Once she was ten she decided to travel the world in order to learn everything she could about magic. Albus disapproved and said she should be enrolled into Hogwarts the moment the start of term rolled around. Unfortunately Aberforth was her legal guardian, meaning Albus had no say. Aurelia got into trouble numerous times due to his brother's futile knowledge of children. Albus ended up rushing to her rescue every single time, whether she be in London or half-way across the world. Hopefully now that she was at Hogwarts he could rest easy.

"Where were you during breakfast?" Lila asked as they walked down to their first class of the day. It was to be Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Merrythought. Aurelia knew that Merrythought had been placed on suspension which piqued her curiosity. She wasn't sure how schools worked but Albus had seemed quite against it for some reason.

"I was having breakfast with my Uncle," answered Aurelia adopting a cheery tone. After all, she was finally getting to experience what normal witches like her experienced. Well, it wouldn't be exactly the same, but she'd have a similar experience nevertheless. "I suppose that'll be a normal occurrence from now on because I quite enjoyed it."

"Aurelia!" called Charlus from behind them. Both girls paused and waited for the boy to catch up to them. He had a strange look on his face that told them that he had news to share. "Guess what I just found out? Merrythought's got _another_ suspension!"

"Already?" Lila asked scrunching up her face in confusion. Aurelia already knew that but she still felt confused. "It's the first day of school!"

"What happens when a Professor gets a suspension?"

"Well then another Professor has to take over until the suspended Professor is un-suspended," explained Charlus gleefully. He didn't seem to like Professor Merrythought much. Aurelia's first impression of the DADA professor hadn't been horrible, she thought he'd be quite competent.

"Who's usually in charge of substituting then?" Aurelia asked as she walked into the classroom. Her eyes immediately caught sight of Albus who was leaning against the front desk with a smile on his face. "Uncle Alby? You're substituting for Merrythought?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Charlus under his breath. That meant she had been correct in her judgement of Merrythought. It wasn't that the Professor wasn't competent, it was just that Charlus preferred her Uncle. It was a bit relieving to know she was right and that her first class would be taught by someone she was familiar with.

"Yes, Professor Merrythought is currently unable to teach the class. Until her return, I shall be your substitute teacher," said Albus gently pushing himself off the desk and walking forwards. All the desks had been pushed to the side of the classroom and stacked on top of each other. Therefore, all the students just stood around the classroom with their friends. As Aurelia looked around, she noticed that the class was made up of both Gryffindors and Slytherins. She saw Tom standing with a couple Slytherins and smiled. Hopefully she'd get a chance to talk to him again. "Our first lesson of the year will not be a lesson. Instead, we'll be having a test—" the class groaned and Albus smiled. "Now now, this won't be a graded test. I just want to see where you are at. We shall have a tournament, of sorts. Everyone pair up."

"Do you want to pair up?" Lila asked looking toward Aurelia.

"Sure," she said. Beside her Charlus deflated and went to find someone else to partner with.

"Charlus likes you, I think," said Lila as they watched him walk over to George. Aurelia raised an eyebrow and wondered if it was true. All she needed to do was peer into his mind and find out. But that wasn't how normal witches did things, she needed to restrain herself.

"No, we're just friends," said Aurelia shaking her head. It was too soon for romantic feelings to develop. Then again, what did she know? Before yesterday the only friends she had lasted about two weeks before she was up and on the move again. Albus had them all stand ten feet away from their partner.

"Whoever disarms the other shall win the match. The loser shall join me at the front of the classroom and practice jinxes on the dummies," said Albus gesturing towards the line of straw dummies decorating the front of the classroom. "Ready? Go!"

While the rest of the class burst into shouts, Aurelia just shot forwards without hesitation and disarmed Lila with a simple flick of her wand. Lila's spell died on her tongue and she stared at her empty hand in shock. Aurelia glanced over at her Uncle who looked a bit amused by her. She handed Lila her wand back. "I wouldn't start with _expelliarmus_ first. It's much faster to say _stupefy_ first. Once you have your opponent stunned you can use the disarming spell."

"That makes sense," said Lila nodding. She took her wand back and made a face. "Did you use a non-verbal?"

"That's allowed, right?" Aurelia asked suddenly feeling unsure of herself.

"It's a test of what you can do, I think anything goes," said Lila giving her a reassuring smile. Aurelia nodded and glanced at her uncle again. He was walking around the classroom and watching the other students duel. Watching it all happen was absolutely beautiful. Vibrant colors of all shades flew across the room and exploded on impact, the auras either disappearing immediately or surrounding its target in a light dreamy cloud. As she watched a pink spell bounce off a shield and shoot across the room, her eyes met Tom's. He was finished duelling as well. "That's Tom Riddle."

"What?"

"You're looking at the Slytherin boy over there right?" Lila asked. Aurelia slowly nodded her head. "He's the Slytherin prefect. Handsome, isn't he? Shame he's a Slytherin."

"Is being in Slytherin a bad thing?" Aurelia asked. She knew many people though it was. Even Albus was a bit wary against the Slytherins, she could see it on his face. She couldn't see anything wrong with the house of the cunning and ambitious.

"They're all made up of purebloods who're prejudice against those who aren't," sighed Lila rolling her eyes. "But Riddle's perfect. He's top of the class in everything, all the professors love him, and he's _handsome_."

Aurelia knew that not all the professors loved him. Albus didn't. But Lila didn't need to know that, it seemed like she had a crush on Tom, actually. Soon all the duels came to and end and the victors were paired up again. Charlus bounded over to her with a grin.

"Two prefects duelling each other, this will be interesting," he said as he held up his wand. She immediately knew that he'd be better than Lila. He seemed to be on defense, judging by the way he stood and held his wand. Aurelia finished analyzing his stance and held up her wand as well. Albus told them to start and she rapidly fired stinging jinxes at him. Charlus's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he did his best to block them all. Aurelia paused for a minute and he took it as his chance to jump onto offence. He was too eager, she noticed. When he tried to stun her she overpowered it with a disarming one and snatched his wand as it flew through the air.

"Sorry," said Aurelia handing him his wand back.

"No, no, that was incredible!" Charlus gushed. "You really are a Dumbledore!"

He too joined Lila at the row of dummies. Now three quarters of the class had been eliminated. Aurelia duelled two Slytherins and another Gryffindor before facing her final opponent. Much to her pleasure, it was Tom. They both took their places in the middle of the classroom and calmly stared at each other. The rest of the class stopped practicing and came to cheer on their respective housemate. Tom's expression was neutral but his eyes revealed everything. He was watching her like a hawk and picking apart her stance. Aurelia knew she could use it to her advantage and trick him but she wanted to see what he was made of. They flickered back up to her face and she smiled at him.

Tom was pleased to know that he'd be duelling Aurelia. It proved that she was as powerful and talented as he had expected and it'd give him a chance to test out his own power. If she was anything like Professor Dumbledore he'd have a good idea of what it'd be like to duel him too. He carefully examined her and came up with the best plan of attack. It wasn't until he looked back at her eyes that he realized his plan wouldn't work. Her electric blue irises shimmered with something akin to mischief. She was clever and tricky, he needed to be prepared to expect the unexpected.

"Ready?" Albus asked as he examined the two. He knew the duel might possibly grow out of hand but he wanted to know who would win. Tom was power-hungry and naturally talented. Meanwhile Aurelia was powerful and hated to lose. "3… 2… 1… Go!"

Aurelia made the first move and shot a powerful yellow blast. Tom deflected it with a strong shield. The moment the blast stopped he fired back his own spell and she countered it with another. Red met blue as they both struggled to overpower the other. She vaguely heard people cheering for either one of them but she was too focused on duelling the boy across from her. Aurelia forced all she had into the spell but it was like pushing against a brick wall. Her only comfort was the fact that Tom seemed to be struggling as much as she was.

Tom narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth as he pushed a bit harder. Yet no matter how hard he pushed, she pushed back at him. He flicked his wand up and directed her spell up to the ceiling. Cracks appeared in the stone but neither of them paid it any attention. He fired as many spells he could at her but she deflected them all and even ricocheted some of them back at him. They ended up juggling with the spells until either one of them dissipated it. Aurelia didn't know how it happened but her wand flew out of her hand. Her eyes flashed purple as she stretched her hand out for Tom's wand and summoned it towards her. The thin stick of wood complied and flew into her fingers just as Tom caught hers. His shocked green eyes met hers as she smirked at him and rolled the smooth dark wand between her fingers.

"A duel doesn't end once your opponent's disarmed," said Aurelia giving his wand a small twirl. He watched her with suppressed fury, every time she carelessly twirled it he got angrier. "But I'm willing to agree to a draw, what do you say, Tom?" They all stared at Tom who had gone completely stiff. He wasn't willing to give up just yet, especially since calling a draw might give people the impression that he was afraid that he might lose. Aurelia seemed to notice his hesitance and glanced up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure the school can take any more of our duel, the ceiling looks a bit… cracked."

Tom scoffed and held out his hand. The ceiling was more than a bit cracked, parts of it were crumbling and dust fell in showers of brown. Aurelia beamed at him and shook his hand firmly. "I hope to get a chance to duel you again, Miss Dumbledore."

"Well done, both of you," said Albus clearing his throat. "Twenty points to both of your houses for a superb display of duelling knowledge. Although, I must compliment you, Aurelia, on your usage of a nonverbal _and_ wandless spell. I agree wholeheartedly with what you said. You must never believe that a duel is over just because you disarmed your enemy, you never know what tricks they have up their sleeve. I suppose I should dismiss you all early since I apparently have a ceiling to fix."

"Sorry Albus," said Aurelia, although she didn't seem sorry at all. Dumbledore chuckled and the class began filing out. She turned back to Tom and held up his wand. "You've got a nice wand. It's very compliant."

"I could say the same," said Tom examining hers. He had felt an odd rush of power when he caught her wand, it felt like electricity was running through him. She handed him his wand back and he reluctantly returned hers. "I must say, you surpass my expectations, Miss Dumbledore."

"I prefer Aurelia, if that's alright with you."

"That's perfectly alright," said Tom forcing a small smile onto his face. She was under the impression that they were friends, that was good. Now that he had gotten a chance to duel her and test her power, he wanted her more than ever. She was powerful and obviously close to her uncle. Everything about her screamed leverage.

"Aurelia!" called Charlus from the door. "Come on!"

"One second!" she said glancing at him over her shoulder. Aurelia smiled sweetly at him and her eyes glittered brightly. "Your magical aura's beautiful. I'm not sure if you can see it but it's emerald green, like your eyes."

Aurelia then turned around and walked to her friends. Tom watched her go, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He had read about magical auras before, but had never considered learning how to see them. In fact, there wasn't any information about _how_ to see them. A strange hunger grew within him as he found himself yearning to know what she knew. To hold the power she could give him. Tom would make sure Aurelia Dumbledore was his.


End file.
